Instructors

Tom enjoys the wide variety of different people he meets as a driving instructor in Christchurch and working with them to find the very best way for them to learn. He naturally puts his pupils at ease and he knows that learning works best when the pupil is happy and interested. For this reason, Tom encourages pupils to put the right mix of skills and topics into a lesson to keep it interesting throughout. Tom takes pride in adapting his lessons to the performance of the pupil on the day. He understands that pupils will learn some skills faster than others and continuously adjusts the pace of the lesson to suit them.  He specially enjoys the point at the end of a lesson when a student can look back and see the improvements they have made.

Transferring knowledge and skill

Tom moved to the area from the Lake District more than 20 years ago, from a beautiful (but rainy) part of the country to another beautiful part of the country where it rains much less. He has spent much of that time working in large corporations which had strong focus on developing people skills. He often led training sessions both for groups and individuals.  Tom is now experienced at using as many techniques as possible to transfer knowledge and skills. Combine that with his long held interest in motoring (but don’t expect him to be excited by anything made after 1980) and becoming a driving instructor in Christchurch was an obvious career choice.

His two kids have reached the age when they are still at home but never around, and are really looking forwards to free driving lessons!  In his free time Tom really enjoys coaching the juniors at a local kayak club and exploring this lovely part of the country.  He enjoys paddling his sea kayak along the Jurassic coast or peddling his bike around the new forest. He enjoys playing Bridge too.

Tom is currently a trainee driving instructor who has completed all necessary training.  He is now gaining experience ready for the final qualifying exam.  With this in mind, many of his lessons are monitored for training purposes by our Director of Training, Pete Wilkinson

Ruedi is the founder of YES! Driving School. Originally from Austria, he permanently moved to the UK in 2002. He now resides and provides a quality service as a driving instructor in Wimborne, Dorset.

Ruedi is a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) approved Grade A Driving Instructor and registered with the Driving Instructors Association (DIA). He is also a qualified Edexcel Lvl3 Assessor as well as holding a Fleet Training Qualification and NVQ 3 in Driving Instruction.

During his service with the Austrian Army and further work with the UN Military Police in Cyprus and the Middle East, Ruedi has acquired a range of skills and vehicle licences for Motorbike, Car, Articulated Truck & Trailer and Coach, both, with manual and automatic transmissions.

Teaching is a passion

Ruedi loves working with people and passing on his knowledge. He also has experience in teaching windsurfing & dinghy sailing.

Being a patient and thorough tutor, he is happy to repeat his instructions until the manoeuvres are made to perfection. He puts his pupils at ease which is what makes his lessons enjoyable. Ruedi recommends the number of lessons one needs to pass the test and drive safely for life. He has been a driving instructor in Wimborne and the surrounding area for some time now. Ruedi has a comprehensive knowledge of the area and an in-depth knowledge of driving test routes around Bournemouth, Poole and Dorchester. Most of Ruedi’s pupils have passed their tests at the first or second attempt.

As a relaxed driver and a sociable person who enjoys teaching and transferring skills in a beautiful location, it seemed natural that Wes’s career should be as a driving instructor in Weymouth and the surrounding areas.
The challenge of adapting lesson plans to suit each individual pupils strengths and weaknesses is one aspect of the job which Wes really enjoys. The whole process of a pupil  turning the ignition key for the first ever time, through to the day they get that pass certificate is very rewarding.

Attention to detail

His tutoring style is relaxed with attention to detail.  Wes believes that a solid  foundation is needed to build your skill-base and lessons reflect this with ‘baby steps’ first lessons that pay  attention to detail.  This can include refinement of clutch control, steering technique, braking and knowledge of how the car works overall. You will feel more confident when road driving and in turn will learn with a confidence that will stay with you for life. Alternatively, if you already have those skills, then you’re already in a good place.
Driving for life is what we aim to achieve, not just enough skills to pass your test.

Wes is a family man and spends most of his time (when not teaching) running around after the kids.  However when he gets the opportunity, he enjoys playing guitar, weightlifting, and football.

Wes is always up to date with  professional development and stays in touch with new methods of teaching and digital software. With YES! Driving School, the ability to see yourself driving via our dashcam technology is a really useful tool in analysing the lesson.

If you are looking for a relaxed yet effective approach to driving lessons in Weymouth and the surrounding areas, and want to learn how to drive well for life then Wes has to be your Number 1 choice.

His profile picture will be published as soon as he finds one that he likes. 🙂

Malgorzata (Margaret) originally comes from Poland. In 2004 she came with her friend to Bournemouth for a short holiday. She fell in love with Dorset and decided to stay for little longer. 15 years later she’s still here and after 2 years of working as a female driving instructor in Bournemouth with a different company, she found the way to join the YES! Driving School family. After meeting with Ruedi and Pete, she believes that YES! Driving School is professional and very friendly.

Margaret qualified as a driving instructor in 2017.  After working for many years in hotel industry where she was leading people at work and dealing with lots of issues, Margaret built a great understanding of how different and unique individuals are.

Becoming a female driving instructor in Bournemouth and helping people achieving goals has quickly become a passion for Margaret. She believes that by working together as a team with her pupils, they can build confidence, rationalise fears, and create an understanding of road safety.  Margaret enjoys teaching life skills and making the lessons as much enjoyable as possible.

Patience is the key

Margaret believes that patience is the key. Pupils need to manage their expectations and not put too much pressure on themselves. She achieves this by putting a sprinkling of fun into every lesson.

Teaching has become Margaret’s new passion in life and the only reason stopping her spending 7 days a week on the road is her two beautiful children. She loves to spend time playing with them, cycling, swimming and exploring new places. However, as a good mother she also makes sure that homework is done before the fun time.

This pleasure of teaching, like nothing before, brings joy and satisfaction to Margaret’s life; she doesn’t think that she will ever get bored. She has developed a hunger to get some more experience in different areas of driving.

Margaret loves to drive around looking for new challenges on the road so will always find you some new driving routes appropriate to you level of experience and ability.

Margaret is a professional, compassionate and diligent individual, so if you are looking for a hard working, funny and efficient instructor ask for Margaret.

After supporting his two teenage children to learn to drive, Tony realised that he had a real passion for driving instruction and equipping people with the skills required for a lifetime of safe driving.  Tony decided to power down the office computer and pursue a new career in providing driving lessons in Wimborne and the surrounding area, including providing driving lessons in Fordingbridge.

A Personalised Approach

Tony believes that every pupil is an individual and he prides himself on his personalised approach to teaching and learning.  He will listen to what you want to gain out of your driving lessons and will work at a pace that you are comfortable with, explaining all instructions with great clarity.

Tony has a particularly calm, patient and understanding nature.  Whilst delivering high quality driving lessons in Wimborne, he enjoys supporting his pupils to succeed with the skills required to become a competent and thoughtful driver.  Most importantly, Tony has a great sense of humour and likes his lessons to be enjoyable as well as progressive. A happy learner will improve much quicker.

In his spare time, Tony is a lifetime supporter of AFC Bournemouth football club and he enjoys spending time with his wife and grown up children.  He enjoys walking his dog and visiting places of interest.

Nigel has lived for most of his life in Poole and has very much enjoyed raising his family there.  Prior to becoming a Driving Instructor in Poole, he gained a breadth of experience in coaching and working with a broad range of people.  His previous experience covers a wide range of working environments.  From this he has developed a knack in how to deal with a variety of people.

Calm equals confident

Nigel’s pupils enjoy his calm, developmental approach enabling them to progress from those first moments behind the wheel to passing their test and beyond.  He tailors his approach to each individual, promoting and building confidence with safe and timely progress.  This progress is controlled by the pupil with guidance from Nigel. A great sense of humour leads to a great atmosphere during lessons.

He is always enthusiastic to meet his students each day.  Nigel enjoys life as a driving instructor in Poole and helping pupils in achieving their goal of passing their test.  More importantly, he also nurtures the skills for them to be safe after test.  He particularly enjoys sharing the delights of test day.

Away from the car, Nigel enjoys most sports and outdoor activities.  He loves to disappear on camping trips into the Purbecks for walking in a peaceful and tranquil setting.  He also delights in spending any spare time with family and friends.

Chris has always been a fan of all things motoring, passing his own Learner Test at the earliest opportunity.  He took his first Advanced Driving Test, assessed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), in 1996 and achieved a Gold Award, the highest standard awarded. He has maintained that same Gold Standard through 5 retests since

Enthusiasm for Driving Skills

Chris decided to pass his enthusiasm for driving skills and road safety across to others and so started his driving instructor career in 2017.  He undertook training with diligence and passed all the qualifying tests comfortably at the first attempt.  Chris’s teaching style matches his character which is calm and relaxed with a few laughs thrown in for good measure.  He has a great talent in building confidence in his pupils and explaining things in really simple terms.

Chris has been working as a sheet metal worker since 1997, bending metal into all shapes and sizes for various foundries and quarries.  He has even been bending engine mounting plates to go onto the Airbus’s A330 and A340 since 1999. Chris also holds a counterbalance forklift license.

Away from anything motoring, Chris is also a keen photographer and bellringer and has been ringing for over 30 years. He also teaches the art of Bell Ringing.

Michelle has lived in Dorset most of her life, with a working background mostly in Engineering.  However, she has a real passion for being a Driving Instructor.  Additionally, as a female driving instructor in Blandford, her diary is always full.

Concern for Road Safety
Having passed her motorbike test at 17 and car test at 21, Michelle has always been a bit of a petrol head which has now developed into more of an interest and concern for road safety. She is a member of the Dorset RoSPA group for driving and, when she can find some more time, she hopes to pursue the motorbike side.

Michelle qualified as a driving instructor decade ago after deciding to make a career move to something that really gives job satisfaction. She says that she doubts she will ever get bored of helping people achieve independence through driving. Her franchise with YES! Driving School enables Michelle to concentrate a bit more on family as well as keep my love for instructing.
Michelle has a small young family which keeps her on her toes; her working hours are within school hours reflecting this.

Michelle is known locally for her ability to instil confidence and to make learning an enjoyable experience.  She has a knack for the psychology of learning which allows her to get the very best from her learners. 

Alan joined YES! Driving School in November 2010, following a period of several years as an independent driving instructor.  He had worked with two other driving schools in recent years. Alan moved from Banbury in 2005 and now lives in Bearwood with his wife and son.  He now enjoys his passion as a driving instructor in Bearwood and surrounding areas.

Adult training has been a large part of Alans working life. He worked for many years for British Telecom as an installations engineer. Training and assisting adult trainee technicians accounted for much of Alan’s time with BT. Before leaving BT, Alan passed a selection board for the post of Training Officer at the BT training school at Bletchley Park, but the school was closed down before he could take up his post.

Moving into financial services as an insurance agent for a large British insurance company, Alan quickly moved up the rankings to Financial Consultant /Sales Manager. Training new trainee Financial Advisors to competent advisor status was a substantial part of Alan’s role.

A calming nature

Following a final career move into driver training, it is clear that Alan has become a popular and successful instructor.  He enjoys a consistently high pass rate and many testimonials left on our web site. Alan also receives a constant flow of recommendations. Alan has a style of teaching which is relaxed and calm, and he specialises in very nervous pupils. He has a great sense of humour, which will help your learning experience to be as stress free as possible.

You will love your driving lessons with Alan.

Jeff has been an ADI since 2009. He started out part-time until he realised that he had a real flair for instruction.  Jeff then left his job in insurance and became a full-time, professional and patient instructor in Bournemouth. He decided to join YES! Driving School because of the good reputation the company has and the high expectations they require from their instructors.

Patient, Professional who loves to laugh

Jeff always enjoys driving and the challenges it can bring, which is why he enjoys sharing his skills. He understands the worries and concerns of some new drivers. He empathises with a pupil who has anxieties and low confidence for example. Jeff likes to make lessons fun and relaxed to build confidence with his pupils. If a pupil has a particular learning style or requirement, Jeff is willing to go the extra mile to ensure that these are met.  Jeff comes across as a patient and professional personality who also loves to laugh.  His main aim is to produce safe drivers who are prepared for life on the road.

During his free time he likes spending time walking his NINE dogs, relaxing with a film, and the occasional meal out with his wife.

Andy has been a driving instructor since 2004.  He now specialises in automatic tuition and is passionate about client-centred learning. If gears and clutch are not right for you, for whatever reason, and you’re looking for an instructor who is very understanding and patient, then you are in the right place.

Client-centred Learning

Andy will listen to what you want to get out of your driving. He will then help you achieve your goals in the ways that work best for you. Andy believe that everyone learns in their own ways, rather than the same approach for all. Having an interest in Coaching and Client Centred Learning, he qualified with a BTEC Level 4 Professional Award in Driver Coaching. This way of learning puts you at the centre of what and how you learn.  It will make you a safer driver, more able to make your own decisions after your test.

Andy has also successfully completed the Mobility Course with QEF.  This has given him an in depth knowledge of adaptations and techniques to be used to enable people with a variety of disabilities to be successful at driving.

Before becoming an instructor Andy worked in the IT industry.  During this time he enjoyed meeting and communicating with people at all levels. His work included running training courses and helping people solve problems and this experience has helped him greatly with Driver Training. Andy looks forward to meeting each and every pupil.

Rob began his driving instruction career in 2009 and established himself as an excellent manual instructor. In 2011 he decided to turn his hand as an Automatic Instructor in Bournemouth and he has continued his success with YES! Driving School.

In his previous careers Rob spent 10 years working as a stonemason restoring and conserving historic buildings around the UK. Attention to detail was an integral part of his work. This is a skill that he has continued to develop with pupils. He worked his way up the career ladder to become a site manager within the same field where he stayed for a further 4 years.  Beyond this Rob worked in IT for 5 years as a systems analyst, monitoring worldwide computer systems for a large bank where once again attention to detail and fault analysis were key skills.

Tailored lessons

With an excellent pass rate you can be sure of first class training to a very high standard, coupled with the ability to put even the most nervous people at ease.  “I tailor my lessons to suit each individual pupil and their specific needs.  They could be a complete novice or a qualified driver looking for a refresher course. Or a newly qualified driver wanting to take some motorway training, I’m happy to help!”

Based in Throop, Rob is a fantastic automatic instructor in Bournemouth and all surrounding areas. He recently cruised through his Standards Check with a superb Grade ‘A’.

Rob has a passion for all things relating to cars and motoring. He may be what you would call a true petrolhead, and is always keen to help people become confident and most importantly safe drivers.

In his free time Rob enjoys a bit of DIY, playing guitar.  He also enjoys walks with Jeff the Boxer dog, and growing and eating super hot chilli peppers.  He is happy to share if that is to your taste. 🙂

Al Bradford has been an ADI since 2015. After teaching manual with another school for a year, he felt that he needed new opportunities. A conversation with Pete in the test centre led to Al joining YES! in 2016. More recently, Al has switched to providing automatic driving instructor in Bearwood.

Al spent the previous 11 years in the Royal Marines as a landing craft operator.  At the same time he became an instructor which is where he discovered his talent for teaching. He also learned how to communicate well with others and stay calm under pressure so you can be assured of a relaxed atmosphere with Al. Combining his experience as an instructor in the military and his professional training as an ADI, Al can offer an enjoyable, fun experience whilst developing your skills behind the wheel in preparation for your driving test and beyond.

Positive patient pace

Al believes in a positive and, more importantly, patient approach but will encourage you to achieve success at your own pace. He will also ensure you have a say in the learning process so that your goals are met when you want them to be.

Al recently achieved an A grade in his standards check scoring 50/51 and can offer the pass plus course to anyone beyond their driving test.

Based in Bearwood, Al has a great first time pass rate and offers lessons in Bournemouth, Poole and the surrounding areas.

When not teaching Al loves to spend time with his wife Claire and two children Jake and Emily, and has a passion for football, cricket and fishing.

We are confident that in Al you will find a patient, enthusiastic and fun instructor.

Donna is originally from Lewes and moved away to support her husband whilst he was serving in the forces. After living in Oxfordshire and Germany, Donna and her family have been settled in Newhaven since 2007.  Her passion is now as a driving instructor in Newhaven and the surrounding areas, providing manual lessons to pupils of all standards.  She thrives on seeing people grow in confidence behind the wheel and uses a calm and compassionate manner to achieve this.

Special Educational Needs

Donna has always enjoyed driving and the freedom which this gives her.  She now relishes the challenge of new, nervous drivers of all ages and enjoys bringing the best out of them. Donna is able to understand how the pupil and work out their individual learning styles.  This is due to her previous experience of working with special educational needs, including Dyslexia, Asperger and ADHD.

Through her personable instructional manner and knowledge she is keen to help students pass first time and become the best driver they can be.  She especially enjoys driving on the continent as she has spent 8 years living in Germany. Her ambition has always been to combine her experience within children’s education and her enthusiasm for driving.